President Jahier sends letter to European Commission President von der Leyen calling for the prompt appointment of the Chief Trade Enforcement Officer

In a letter sent today to European Commission President von der Leyen, EESC President Luca Jahier has called for the prompt appointment of the Chief Trade Enforcement Officer.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a strong advocate for free, fair and rules-based trade and we unreservedly support the EU's commitment to multilateralism. "Like the Commission, we are committed to the proper implementation and enforcement of existing and future trade agreements," Jahier said, welcoming the commitment to appoint a Chief Trade Enforcement Officer "to monitor and improve the compliance of our trade agreements", to "report regularly on the state of play" and "keep the European Parliament and the Council abreast of all developments."

"Trade agreements must fulfill their objectives for Civil society to continue supporting our trade strategy and so we must ensure that our trading partners abide by their commitments," said Jahier.

"We believe there is a significant untapped potential in such agreements which, if fully achieved, could create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the Union. The economic and social challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have made this even clearer," Jahier added.

Jahier urged von der Leyen do use her good offices to ensure that an appointment is made as soon as possible so that the EU may reap the benefits that we are certain the office-holder can deliver.

Press contact

Daniela Vincenti
EESC President Spokesperson
Phone  +32 2 546 82 62
Mobile +32 470 89 22 66

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